Stamped: March 22nd, 2007 | Toggle Similar
Tagged: angst.

People grow big balls on the internet. The social bashing that we can get away with here, in the confines of our comfy chairs, would likely insight riots in certain face to face encounters. You know, as well as I do, that’s why we do it. Ahh, the sweet protection that can be found with the little x in the upper right corner. We don’t have to read that which ruffles our feathers. Most of us do, though, because it’s one of the only places where we feel we can be 100% honest without serious repercussions and we’ll retaliate and defend and criticize until our fingers go numb. The day that a machine is invented that allows users to punch other users in the face over the internet is the day that all will change. Until then, the ball growing goes on.

At the risk of being flogged I say, people, get the fuck over your issues with other groups of people. Seriously. Who gives a shit that Joe Blow thinks I’m a crap mom because I have tattoos and still love Guns-N-Roses (or that I wear Elvis Costello black rimmed glasses, *wink*)? And who gives a shit that your last boyfriend was lying sack of shit, therefore confirming your standpoint that all men suck royal ass? No one really. What perpetuates the repetitive generalizations against a particular sect of society boils down to the old adage, misery loves company. I get that. When my significant other causes my blood to boil and flames to shoot from my eyes I want to vent and release my frustrations with someone who understands. I sure as hell don’t want to hear about how good some other bitch has it with her man because he’s Prince Charming in a three piece pin-striped suit. That only necessitates my urge to punch her in the face repeatedly. So yah, fundamentally, I get jumping on that bashing bandwagon. However, just because my man might be behaving as a douche doesn't mean I assume the entire male population to be the same. So when is it enough? When you’ve (or I’ve) single handedly criticized and hated on every person or group of persons who doesn’t think, act, look or dress like you (or me)? How very Hitler.

Bear in mind that I’m not speaking of individual bashing in this, my little soapbox moment. Clearly there are certain people (Paris Hilton, Osama Bin Laden, or Ann Coulter for example) who agitate social antipathy and rightfully so. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ll jump in the hater-parade with bells on when a deserving idiot comes along. But establishing an entire group of people as this way or that is just not cool (except in the case of extremist vegans, naturally, who are a bunch of crazed crackpots, eh hem).

Man bashing.
Woman bashing.
Hipster parent bashing.
Liberal bashing.
Conservative bashing.
Christian bashing.
Military bashing.
Gay bashing.
Racial bashing.
(the list goes on and on of course)

It is not socially acceptable to denounce an entire race or nationality. We can all agree that doing so is bigoted, hateful and morally wrong. Why then do we make exceptions to suit our own particular hate driven stereotypes against certain social circles/people? Why is it acceptable for a scorned woman to proclaim that all men are cheating douche bags or a man to suggest that all women are money hungry leeches? Why was David Brook compelled to write a NY Times piece last month declaring that parents who still go to rock concerts or, god forbid, dress their infants in Ramones onesies are somehow doing their children an injustice? Are people like Mr. Brook becoming so enamored with faultfinding that they’re actually suggesting that good child rearing boils down to whether a parent wears ripped jeans & dingy chucks while listening to indie tunes on a pink iPod versus the more conservative L.L. Bean catalog shopping Amy Grant lover?

For the record (really it’s more of a preemptive defense), I am not a peace lovin’, tree lovin' hippie. Nor am I a so-called hipster parent (I had no idea this classification even existed until a fellow blogger professed her right to relish in hipster-dom last month). I am not a Christian or a Jew or a person of color or gay or a man. And apparently, I'm neither liberal or conservative. Therefore, besides being a woman and being lumped into the tattooed freak category I'm not typically categorized in the popular negative generalizations. Scratch that. I forgot. I am a stay at home mom and as you may have heard we’re all lazy, unintelligent, fat slobs who’ve let ourselves go in lieu of having children. Oh and lets not even get started on the gross generalizations made because I'm ::gasp:: a military spouse.

Opting to think for ourselves instead up tagging along with the judgmental hierarchy would mean people would have to drop the inclination to prophesize in opposition to anyone who, for any reason, didn't fit within their social standards. Unfortunately, we’re more likely to see the Pope giving Dan Brown a blowjob than overall human decency in letting people live however they see fit.

The hater diatribe is so over done. Making such a statement, I realize, leaves me wide open to public slandering. Why? Well for one, obviously I’ve missed the “cool and with it” mark because I don’t hate the same things the “cool and with it” crowd hates. And two, clearly I think I’m too good to bash people with my holier-than-thou mentality. I’m sure there’s a three (I’m scorned by recent rants) and a four (I’m a whiny crybaby), but I respectively decline to give a shit. My point is this: get the fuck over your issues with the other groups of people who aren’t like you or who don’t fit into your misconceived ideals. I won’t go so far as to say give peace a chance, but it wouldn’t kill some of us to turn down the hate-o-meter.

::Cough, Cough:: So as not to enforce some sort of the hypocrite of the week award upon myself, I’m off to get the fuck over my issue of being pissed at all the people who can’t get the fuck over their issue of being pissed.

Last 5 posts by JB

• Happy Anniversary - June 21st, 2007
• decision 2007: dildo fantasies vs. honesty - June 14th, 2007
• Intermission - June 7th, 2007
• Yoni, up close and personal - May 31st, 2007
• My friend Karma - May 24th, 2007